Development of a University Laboratory Chemical Inventory and Exchange Program
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Because of the transient nature of research personnel and projects in the university environment, academic research laboratories are sources of a large quantity of hazardous waste on campuses. As a result, universities are seeking to establish programs to encourage minimization of waste. This paper reports the results of an initiative to assess the feasibility and development of a full-scale chemical inventory and exchange (CIE) program at the University of Florida (UF) for reuse of surplus chemicals that would normally accumulate in the laboratories before their ultimate disposal. By tracking the flow of research chemicals through representative research laboratories, it was determined that the amount of surplus chemicals available for exchange in UF laboratories would support a CIE program and potentially yield positive environmental impacts. After several months of operation, the UF Chem Swap Program, a user-friendly web-based mechanism for maintenance of complete on-line chemical inventories and designation of available chemicals, has resulted in significant exchanged material and has become a successful method to heighten the need for safety and pollution prevention awareness and thoughtful purchasing practices.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers would like to extend thanks to the FDEP for providing support for this work and to the UF’s EHS Department and the numerous laboratory Pls for their willingness to participate in this project.
References
American Chemical Society (ACS). (1993). “Less is better: Laboratory chemical management waste reduction.” Washington D.C. ⟨http://membership.acs.org/c/ccs/pubs/less_is_better.pdf⟩.
Bishop, P. L. (2000). Pollution prevention: fundamentals and practice, McGraw–Hill, Boston.
Bowling Green State University. (2000). “Orphan chemical recycling program.” ⟨http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/envhs/orphmain.htm⟩ (August 1, 2000).
Cleveland State University. (2000). “Orphan chemical exchange program.” ⟨http://www.bges.csuohio.edu/orphan/orphan.html⟩ (August 1, 2000).
Creighton, S. H. (1998). Greening the ivory tower (urban and industrial environments), MIT Press, Boston,.
Krause, A. A. (2001). “Refuse/recycling FAQ.” Univ. of Florida, Physical Plant Division, Gainesville, Fla.
Lab Safety Institute. (2002). ⟨http://labsafety.org⟩ (April 9, 2002).
Newport, D., and Chesnes, T. (2001). “University of Florida sustainability indicators.” The Greening UF Program, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Ogden, A. J. (2001). “The life cycle of research chemicals and the development of chemical exchange programs at educational institutions.” MS thesis, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Portland State University. (2001). “Portland state chemical consortium.” ⟨http://www.adm.pdx.edu/user/pcc/default1.htm⟩ (August 1, 2001).
University of California-Davis (UC-Davis). (2001). “Chemical exchange system.” ⟨http://ehs.ucdavis.edu/cis2k/Cheep/hwmrecy1.cfm⟩ (August 1, 2001).
University of Maryland-College Park. (2000). “Chemical exchange and recycling.” ⟨http://www.inform.umd.edu/CampusInfo/Departments/EnvirSafety/hw/min/exchange.html⟩ (August 1, 2000).
University of Utah. (2000). “Chemical and biological inventory.” ⟨http://www.ehs.utah.edu/ohh/inventory.htm⟩ (August 1, 2000).
University of Vermont (2000). “Chem Source.” ⟨http://esf.uvm.edu/chemsource/index.html⟩ (August 1, 2000).
University of Washington. (2000). “Surplus and recycled chemicals.” ⟨http://www.ehs.washington.edu/waste/surplusrecycle.htm⟩ (August 1, 2000).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (1990). “Guides to pollution prevention: Research and education and institutions.” EPA/625/7-90/010, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (2000). “Environmental management guide for small laboratories.” EPA 233-B-00-001, Washington, D.C.
Wilson, E. (2002). “Lab safety dispute leads to firing.” Chem. Eng. News, 80(11), 39–40.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • January 2006
Pages: 46 - 56
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 24, 2002
Accepted: Mar 27, 2003
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.